How States' 'Perry Mason Moment' Led To $17B Meta Deal

By Dorothy Atkins

A recent landmark $17.1 billion settlement with Meta Platforms Inc. may have never happened if it weren't for a quick-thinking trial attorney and his close-knit team of lawyers representing 29 states, who worked together to swiftly shift strategies midtrial.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brothers Seek Justices' Clarity After Losing Stolen Skull Suit

By Lauraann Wood

Two brothers who lost their bid to hold an Illinois county liable for a former coroner's secret skull-collecting practices asked the U.S. Supreme Court Monday to use their case as the vehicle for settling a deep circuit split they say a recent Seventh Circuit ruling "cemented."

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

States Say DOJ Trans Care Crackdown Is Unconstitutional

By Madeline Lyskawa

States suing the Trump administration have urged a Massachusetts federal judge to strike down directives calling for providers of gender-affirming care to be investigated and prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice, arguing the directives are arbitrary and capricious and violate the Tenth Amendment.

Summary Judgment attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

F-150 Drivers Denied Class Cert. In Ford Transmission Suit

By Mike Curley

An Illinois federal judge has denied class certification to a group of Ford F-150 owners who allege Ford shipped vehicles with defective transmissions, finding their warranty claims are blocked by a class action waiver, and they failed to show there was a common defect among class vehicles.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Salesforce Must Face Claims Over Customer Data Breach

By Corey Rothauser

A California federal judge has largely denied Salesforce's bid to dismiss a proposed class action alleging security weaknesses in its cloud platform allowed hackers to steal the personal information of customers and employees of Allianz, Farmers Group and TransUnion.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Charter Can't Escape Ex-Workers' 401(k) Forfeiture Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

A proposed class action against Charter Communications Inc. alleging the company misspent forfeitures from an employee 401(k) plan can partly move ahead, a Missouri federal judge said, holding that retirement plan participants plausibly alleged the company breached its fiduciary duties in violation of federal benefits law.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Lender Alleges Housing Official Ran $2.4M Ponzi Scheme

By Aaron Keller

A real estate investment firm has accused the former executive director of a Connecticut town's housing authority of operating a Ponzi scheme that caused a $2.4 million loan to "vanish," alleging he and an associate made fraudulent assurances about proposed bonds, account balances, property values and other financing.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Enova Cites Regulatory Uncertainty As It Ends Bid For Bank

By Jon Hill

Fintech lender Enova International has scrapped a proposed $369 million purchase of Grasshopper Bancorp Inc., dropping its closely watched bid to enter the federal banking system after months of regulatory review and criticism from consumer advocates.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

7th Circ. Debates Federalism, Bad-Faith Prosecution Limits

By Celeste Bott

A case deemed moot by the Seventh Circuit nonetheless drew commentary Monday from several judges on the court, with four calling an injunction that blocked Florida from pursuing a state court suit over youth gender-affirming care a "grievous blow" to federalism, while others said federal intervention is a "constitutional safety valve" against bad-faith prosecutions.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Hotels, Amadeus Defend Info Exchange Win At 7th Circ.

By Matthew Perlman

Luxury hotel chains and software provider Amadeus IT Group are telling the Seventh Circuit a lower court was right to toss a case accusing the hotels of exchanging sensitive information, saying the allegations are based entirely on the use of a lawful benchmarking service.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ashurst Perkins Aided $230M ICap Ponzi Scheme, Suit Claims

By Ben Adlin

Ashurst Perkins Coie pocketed millions of dollars in legal fees by providing services to clients it knew were operating a Ponzi scheme that ultimately swindled investors out of nearly $230 million, plaintiffs claimed in a Washington state lawsuit accusing the firm of aiding and abetting fraud.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Taps Ex-DOL Official To Serve As EEOC Top Cop

By Anne Cullen

The White House nominated a former Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP attorney who previously led the U.S. Department of Labor's contractor compliance arm to serve as the general counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Washington Sen. Murray Vows To Block Trump US Atty Pick

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump's nominee to be U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington is under fire from one of the home state senators who vowed to use every avenue possible to block him.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fla. Judge Won't Pause Trump-IRS Settlement Sanctions

By Jack McLoone

The Florida federal judge who barred President Donald Trump and others from citing a settlement resolving what she characterized as a sham $10 billion case against his own Internal Revenue Service won't pause her sanctions order while the president appeals to the Eleventh Circuit.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

4th Circ. Appears Split On Reviving Comey, James Indictments

By Jared Foretek

Partisan splits were apparent Tuesday on the Fourth Circuit panel hearing the Trump administration's challenge to a federal district judge's dismissal of the indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, with two of the three judges appearing to agree an improper appointment doomed the cases.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Calif. Judge Charged Over Fatal Crash With Bicyclist

By Craig Clough

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday that his office charged Kings County Superior Court Judge Kendra Weber with a misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter, alleging she struck and killed a bicyclist.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »